Domestic Surveillance

While my readers may or may not be following the controversy on the Domestic Surveillance issue, here are my thoughts on the subject: I believe that the President not only has the right and authority to conduct this type of surveillance, both constitutionally and as given to him by Congress, but it is his sworn duty.

The President has a larger and sworn responsibility to protect the lives and the interests of the citizens of the United States. It would be negligence on the part of the President if he had the capacity to monitor and prevent or stop altogether a threat or threats to the United States and her Citizens and failed to do so. How quickly people forget that this world is a very different place post September 11th.

Within the constraints outlined by the program, the only persons subject to monitoring are those persons who are in regular electronic contact with persons of interest, suspected members, or individuals presenting reasonable suspicion of being affiliated with Al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. This means if you are an American citizen, whether an immigrant or not, from whatever country, and you make a call to a foreign country of interest, your call may be intercepted. If this happens, a determination will be made if either you or the party you are calling has some sort of terrorist or criminal affiliation.

If none can be established or determined, you will no longer be monitored. People really need to understand the technology involved and the reality of this program. The news reports make it sound like any and all calls from all citizens are monitored and recorded, and that people are completely losing their privacy. This is simply not the case.

Not even the NSA has the capacity, manpower, funding or time to possibly monitor and record EVERY electronic transmission that leaves or enters the United States. This is not a politically motivated partisan statement, but a statement of scientifically possible technical fact. I will try to explain.

It is said that every single electronic signal emitted from the planet Earth since the early to mid 80s has been and is recorded by the NSA. While this may be scientifically and technically possible, it is highly unlikely it is occurring purposefully. Think about all the possible forms of electronic communications and emissions that occur daily on our planet.

Cell phones, PDAs, computers, the internet, telephones, microwave, radio, Wi Fi and others. The average household and the average individual is in possession of and regularly uses several of these devices daily. Factor in all the various forms of communication used by the various military forces all over the world, and the number of personnel using them. The number is astronomical.

Scaling back to just the United States, there are millions of people and devices communicating daily. There are millions of overseas calls and transactions, emails, and other types of transmissions on a daily basis. Computers could be programmed to capture and record all incoming and outgoing international calls easily. Computers could further be programmed to specifically flag communications in which certain conditions are met. These would be conditions such as particular phrases, or even calls to specific locations or hotspots. Even with this type of filtering, these calls and recorded or monitored communications would be on the order of millions or hundreds of thousands. This would then require HUMAN technicians to listen to these calls and determine significance or threat. If these calls were in foreign languages, (As you might assume many calls to foreign nations might be.) it would then require the skills of a translator as well.

The amount of time and effort required to accomplish a task such as this would take literally years to complete. There are a number of dialects of Arab languages, not to mention all the other languages spoken in the world. It would be necessary for a skilled technician to filter out the appropriate transmission to be monitored, a translator to transcribe the recording, and an intelligence agent to assess it.

If only one million calls were captured (Excluding all other forms of communication) it could potentially require 3 million employees to process and review the recorded information, if it was to be monitored in any sort of actionable time frame. I am fairly certain that the NSA employs far less than 3 million folks. The less people doing the work, the more time it would take to get it done.

All that being said, it is far more likely that the calls being monitored are those being made by people being previously identified as having questionable affiliations based on information obtained through other investigations. There has been a tremendous amount of intelligence and information collected post September 11th, and this information has generated names and leads.

The point is, if you aren’t doing anything illegal, and you aren’t affiliated with or otherwise interacting with people in that line of work, you are not likely to ever be monitored. Making calls to your mother in France or your cousin in Jordan is not likely to be recorded or even noticed.

Citizens of most countries, especially the United States have an obligation and moral duty to report crimes and suspected crimes to the authorities. Not doing so makes you an accessory. Americans have no business making calls and having chats with known or suspected terrorists.

If you are a law abiding citizen, and not engaged in criminal activities, and don’t associate with people who do, it is highly unlikely that you would ever be monitored, and even more unlikely that your name would have come up in any investigations of known associates or contacts of terrorists or other criminals.

I find it far less disturbing to think I may be monitored, since I have nothing to hide, and I am not planning anything ominous against the United States, or any other citizens of the world for that matter. I find it far more comforting to think that someone in a position to protect me has the ability to catch, react to, and prevent someone from crashing an airliner into a building, or detonating an atomic bomb in a mall.

I would rather my fellow Americans, and all other citizens of the world be protected from the loss of three thousand or more of there countrymen due to the acts of a religious zealot.

Another day another blog

Having just posted what can only be called a small novel on human trafficking I have come to several conclusions. One of these conclusions is that it is quite possible that I have pissed many folks off and lost whatever audience I may have had with my last post, due to its nature.

Another of my conclusions is that I have received no feedback or replies because no one gives a shit at all about the things that are going on, and that the US Government is in fact supporting it, whether admittedly or not. Check the facts out on your own people. I am not making these things up, and I have two years worth of experience having to patrol these places as Courtesy Patrol and Command Presence Patrol.

Finally, I may conclude that indeed I do not have any fans and no one at all reads my blog, with the few comments I have received being anomalies. Flukes… Random events and visitors mistakenly trapped in my piece of the blogosphere.

On an unrelated note, it seems that I have once again gotten tipsy and driven someone away. Someone who thought I was overly negative, even though at the time I was trying to make light of my own shitty situation. I’m not really certain how to broach the issue. Perhaps that was just an off day of this person. Perhaps in my inebriated state I was far less funny, and far more negative than I perceived. In any event, I was almost certainly being me.

I find often that many people have a very difficult time with allowing me to be me. I find quite often that people who want to be close to me or be my friend attempt to put in overtime trying to change me or mold me to their idea of how and what I should be. This I will never understand. It is almost always completely counterproductive. I don’t see the reason for it.

I am very accepting and liberal when it comes to the beliefs and behavior of others, and I can’t see a reason why I would try to change anyone. If I changed someone, then they wouldn’t be who they are, they would be who I want them to be. This would not give me an accurate representation at all of an individual. All my likes and dislikes of someone I changed would be based on my Idea of them, and not who they really were.

Which brings me to the question of the day: Why am I a lesbian? Discuss that among yourselves. Marinate a bit. That will quite possibly be the topic of the next installment of blogstyles of the broke and infamous.

Ciao

USFK Curfew and Human Trafficking

As promised, I will now post regarding the USFK Curfew policy, and why it is yet another useless, unfair, and unrealistic policy. At the conclusion of the post you may also be of the opinion that the policy does nothing to stop or control it’s intent, and that the local Major Commands support human trafficking to a large degree. The policies that are in place serve only to perpetuate the cycle and climate of human trafficking in these areas of operation.

Now let us outline the Curfew policy for your reading pleasure. All personnel assigned to, in or passing through the Korean peninsula, (USFK area) are required to be on a U.S. Military installation prior to Midnight on nights not preceding a weekend or holiday (IE Sunday through Thursday) and 0100 hours on Weekends and Holidays (IE Friday and Saturday) The Curfew hours are from 2400 to 0500 and 0100 to 0500 as described above. The reason for the implementation of this policy is cited as Force Protection and prevention and control of human trafficking.

Again, another useless and disingenuous policy that serves only to increase the number of UCMJ actions initiated and completed in Korea. We will begin with the human trafficking angle. The night clubs and other such establishments near military bases throughout Korea are subject to inspections by U.S. Military authorities. The club owners and managers are given a set of requirements and briefed on the do's and don’ts. The only available enforcement of "violations" of these requirements is to place the club off limits to service members. As you may have figured out, this a mediocre system at best.

Since Americans are obviously not the primary source and income for most of these establishments. Especially those in the Seoul/Itaewon area. Near the smaller camps and smaller cities in Korea, this does have a larger effect and create a financial impact on the establishment, however this burden is passed on to innocents.

I will explain. Nearly all of these night clubs and bars employ foreign national females from various countries, to work as "waitresses" or "bartenders." These women are commonly referred to as "Drinky Girls" or "Juicy Girls." and various other colloquial names. The vast majority of these women come primarily from the Philippines and Russia, with a few other nationalities in the mix.

These women are brought to Korea under false pretenses, lured with contracts of employment for such positions as singers, dancers, DJs, bartenders, and hostesses. In order to apply for and receive these employment contracts and work visas, these woman must be in possession of an "Artist's Record Book." This document is somewhat like a passport, but it contains a portfolio like record of the jobs held in the field (singer, dancer, etc) and the years of experience and training of the individual. This includes ratings as a Singing instructor and dance instructor.

Upon their arrival in country, these women are picked up by a “Club Manager” or “Talent Agent” and taken to one of several “Night Clubs” in South Korea. In Area I of South Korea (North of Seoul) the first stop for most of these young women is Tongducheon, near the gates of Camp Casey / Camp Hovey. Here these women are distributed among the local clubs for quite literally a “breaking in” period.

The areas in which these clubs are located are notorious for human trafficking and prostitution, and many of these areas are off limits to U.S. Service members of any branch of service. This does not however prevent heavy patronage by local Korean Nationals, and in fact American civilian workers and contractors. (Since they can not be made to adhere to any curfew policy, nor be kept out of any businesses constitutionally.) These civilians can be of course prosecuted if they are caught engaging in illegal activities.

Once the girls arrive at these various clubs, their ability to be manipulated and forced to engage in and perform various duties is assessed by the floor manager or “Mamasan” in these clubs. Those who can be coerced, intimidated and strong armed into performing several services up to and including sex, quite often several times a night, with a host of men AND women, are then further distributed several days or weeks later to other clubs.

Those who display a strong will or lack of cooperation, or refusal to comply with these activities are often moved immediately before they have a chance to influence the other girls in these clubs. Those women that are particularly uncooperative or otherwise unable to be intimidated into “performing” are sent back to their country of origin. Often times the women who are sent back to their home countries are still forced to pay their contracts.

The contracts… The women that are brought to South Korea to work are done so under an employment contract. These contracts cover everything from type of job and salary, to number of days off monthly and room and board arrangements. Invariably when these women are applying for their work visas with the promise of employment and a better life for their families there arises a problem.

The problem comes in the form of receiving their visa allowing them to enter the country. The “Talent Agency” and “Promoter” provide room and board, and allowance, and purchase the plane ticket, along with taking care of “costs” associated with obtaining the visa. These costs are frontloaded directly onto the employment contracts of these women. Once in the club, these girls are not able to receive their first months pay, in order to pay “expenses.”

They are then told what job they are to hold… This brings us back to the “Drinky Girl” position. They are told to sell drinks at a rate of anywhere from ten to twenty dollars (US) per shot. Often times these shots contain no alcoholic beverage whatsoever. (Hence the title “juicy girl”) These girls receive only one or two dollars of this cost per drink. After a month of working for a salary of four to five hundred dollars per month, these girls are then required to pay the monthly installment on their contract.

The club owners tell these women that they will open a savings account for them, and “hold” their money for them. These women are given an allowance monthly, (they never receive the balance of their salary) with the club owner “holding” the money for them. The women have no access themselves to these “savings accounts” The club owner of course takes their “costs” off the top, gives a small amount of money to the girls themselves. (Out of which the girls must send money to their families, buy phone cards and incidentals, clothing, and hygiene items, as well as pay for their own medical care.)

When clubs are caught violating the various policies set down by the US Military authorities and placed off limits, several things happen. One of the initial things that happen is the women employed by the club stop getting paid. This is to punish them for breaking the “rules” and the “law,” with the club owners themselves of course never admitting any involvement or knowledge.

If the club is able to make restitution and become once again an approved establishment, the floor managers are very strict about how the girls conduct themselves for a period of time. During this time if the girls are not able to sell the volume of drinks and “services” as in the past pay is reduced, along with food, with the women being often only fed once or twice a day.

These girls are not allowed to leave the premises and most often live in the club. Dormitory style (if that) rooms accessed through a door inside the club itself. These girls not only share rooms, but often are forced to share beds, with sometimes three or four to a bed. Their lives are further regimented as they have schedules of chores and responsibilities as to the care and upkeep of not only their living and common areas but the club itself.

I could write a small book on the conditions and treatment of these women alone, but I believe the previously outlined information will give readers the general idea. With that being said, this brings us full circle with the anti human trafficking policies.

US Service members are given frequent training on identifying and reporting suspected human trafficking. Some of the signs to look for are: The employees not allowed to leave the premises, or only while chaperoned. The employees are not in possession of their passports and alien cards. The employees have someone in the club monitoring their activities, controlling their time and pushing them to sell “drinks” and other services.

The employees are allowed to sit with patrons for an amount of minutes corresponding to the dollar amount of the drink purchased. The employees act fearful around the “floor manager.” There are a whole host of other signs to be aware of a look out for, and service members are ordered to report these signs for investigation.

Oddly enough these activities occur in EVERY SINGLE ONE of the clubs inspected and authorized by the local Major Commands, in fact these establishments receive a placard hung outside that states the clubs have passed inspection and are authorized for US Service members. In fact towards the end of all the slide show presentations discussing human trafficking and the signs to be aware of, it clearly states: “buying drinks for the employees is allowed and not illegal.”

In an environment and command climate where human trafficking in not tolerated, how then is the Army able to condone and allow patronage to any of these establishments when it is reasonable to assume that the employees are working under these conditions? In plain view? Of note, recently is has also become unauthorized to take photographs in these establishments. Not by the owners of these establishments, but by the local commands charged with inspecting and enforcing the anti- human trafficking policies.

Having covered all that, where exactly does the curfew policy fit in, and exactly what if anything does it prevent or limit? The night clubs in question aren’t closed after curfew, many of them open for regular business for Korean and other foreign Nationals after curfew hours. In case I failed to mention it, during non curfew hours these clubs must agree to disallow patronage by Korean and foreign Nationals other than US Personnel during normal business hours.

The penalty for not complying with these policies? The club is placed off limits to US Service members. Does anyone at all find this at all effective? Another question comes to mind when placing all these facts in perspective… Since when is the US Army, or anyone else affiliated with the United States Government take it upon themselves to dictate how business owners will conduct their businesses on their OWN soil? Are we in the habit of involving ourselves in foreign domestic policy frequently?

Take a moment to put into perspective the fact that US civilian and government contractors, and their dependants, as well as the dependants of US Service members can no longer be required to abide by the curfew policy, as it was found to be a violation of their constitutional rights. The policy letter previously published that outlined all contractors, civil service employees and their dependants as well as service members and their dependants had to be rescinded.

The policy was re-written to exclude those not in active federal military service, with the wording changed to “highly recommend” that the civilians, dependants, and contractors abide by these policies. Why are service members not afforded these same rights? The price for our service is loss of our constitutional rights and treatment as second class citizens. Except during duty hours, during which the responsibility and level of trust placed on us far exceeds nearly any form of civilian employment one could think of.

All the while the troops are given the zero tolerance for human trafficking rhetoric, while we watch as it is condoned by the, to however small a degree, by the US Army, and ultimately the United States Government. Now there’s something for Mr. Bill O’Reilly to do an expose on.

How many more young women have to be damaged and used as a commodity under the watchful and fully aware eyes of the United States? You see the problem is not with theses young women. For them it is survival. Not only their own, but that of their families. The concept of poverty for most Americans involves soup kitchens and blankets from the Salvation Army. There are no such programs available where most of these young women hail from, and often they are the sole provider for families of six to ten people or more. Think about it folks.

Sleepless In Uijeongbu

Once again I find myself on Staff Duty. The first, (and most certainly not the last by any stretch) of the new year. The previous year has seen me through many life changing events, experiences, and memories. The current tour of duty provides an excessive amount of time to reflect; Marinate if you will, on all that has transpired. It has indeed been an emotional year.

I have done a great deal of growing, both personally and professionally. I have been physically and emotionally drained, morally tested ( apparently I have none and I am the devil) and professionally challenged. I have managed to come through these things with no permanent harm done, however I still have not completed my novel...

The novel project... I am currently in editor/revisor's hell. Not from any outside source mind you, but of my own making. Novelist and perfectionist it would seem is not at all a winning combination. When re- reading and revising my novel I am convinced at this point that I could easily be diagnosed as being schizophrenic, or as having Dissociative identity disorder. I have never been cussed at so much as I have when I am doing it to myself. Just the three of us; Me, Myself, and I.

That's all I have to say about that! I have spent the past couple of weeks attempting to get my military records in order for the upcoming promotion selection board, and perhaps if I cross all my fingers and toes, and burn incense at a Buddhist shrine I will be selected. (I wont be holding my breath) Promotions are extremely hard to come by in my field at my level.

I was finally able to rid myself, and the United States Army as a whole of one impossibly incompetent and horrible soldier. This has relieved a great deal of stress on the entire command I'm certain. I know I sleep better at night. Good luck, you know who you are. I'll be very surprised if McDonald's will even hire you for any length of time.

It appears as if the Iraqi military and law enforcement agencies are finally getting their collective asses together and unfucking themselves. Perhaps soon we will begin to see OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) begin to wind down, and fewer Americans being placed in harms way on missions that the Iraqis can and should be handling.

I think if those people (the Iraqis) would find in themselves and their country a little pride on a larger scale, it would go a long way toward securing their country and their future. I guess that is what thirty years of corruption and oppression does to people. They seem to be catching on rather quickly, Iraq appears to be the latest and greatest investment and stock market hotspot. Their market and economy is growing at a geometric rate, terrorist incidents notwithstanding.

Let me toss a rant in here about my current country of assignment. South Korea. Specifically the curfew and battle buddy policy. Both of these policies are counterproductive, disingenuous and largely ineffective. Both of these policies are cited as having been created as "Force Protection" measures, with the curfew policy also cited as being implemented to control human trafficking.

Lets outline these policies beginning with the "battle buddy" policy. Currently in Area I of South Korea (controlled by the 2nd Infantry Division), the policy states that soldiers in the grades of E6 and below are required to have a "battle buddy" from 1800 hours until curfew, and those in the grades of E7 and above are highly encouraged to have a "battle buddy" from 1800 hours until curfew.

Looking at this as a reasonable and seasoned NCO, with 13 years of military experience, and factoring in the "Force Protection" angle, the policy makes no sense.

If I was a terrorist or other subversive, would I be more likely to target lower ranking and less knowledgeable personnel for kidnappings, killings, intelligence gathering, and mayhem? Or would I be more likely to target the higher ranking more senior and mission critical personnel? Those personnel who have operational knowledge and critical information, and those that ARE the command structure? Hmm, seems like a no brainer.

If there was some sort of anti American demonstration or protest and I found myself suddenly in the middle of it with no chance of escape, does being in the grades of E6 and below:

A. make me more or as equally likely to get my ass beat by a mob as an E7 or above?

B. make it somehow more obvious to said mob that I am an American and need to have my ass beat immediately?

C. make me incapable of identifying the imminent danger and trying to escape, or otherwise unass the AO?

D. make me more susceptible to a kidnapping while walking alone, as an adult male (or female) 31 year old E6 with 13 years of experience, than say that 22 year old 2nd lieutenant with 6 to 8 months of experience? Or that 27 to 40 year old E7 through E9/O10 (depending on MOS, and for USFK branch of service) with anywhere from 7 to 30 years experience?

E. make Korea somehow more dangerous for me than say, walking through Detroit or Harlem, East Los Angeles or Germany (where there HAVE been attacks on American service members) where there is neither a curfew nor mandatory battle buddy policy?

If I am in the grade of E7 or above and traveling alone in Korea, and find myself in an untoward situation can I:

A. use my magical E7 and above secret decoder ring to extricate myself from said untoward situation?

B. use my much more refined political oratory skills to negotiate myself out of an ass whipping by angry American hating mobs?

C. shift out of phase with this reality again expertly employing my super secret E7 and above decoder ring and club card, thusly causing a kidnappers hands to pass harmlessly through my body foiling the attempt?

D. use my superior senior leaders E7 and above physiology and ability to prevent excessive alcohol from clouding my judgment and decision making, and thereby protecting me from all harm, since my more experienced mind and drinking ability and higher tolerance for alcohol will always prevent me from screwing the pooch while downrange?

E. flash my E7 and above ID at would be threats to Americans and soldiers, thusly stopping these threats dead in their tracks because by the very nature of my grade I have a protective energy field, and these threats know it?

I do believe that the readers that visit here will be able to see through my heavily veiled sarcasm and realize that the policy is not just and fair, and not consistent with the cited intent of the policy which is "Force Protection"

A policy which is not in fact mandatory, but "encouraged" by the Commander, USFK. Does it even matter that the U.S. State Department lists Korea as one of the safest countries that U.S. citizens can travel to and visit?

The policy is degrading and shows me as a professional NCO that my leaders have no faith in my ability to conduct myself in my personal time, my exemplary service notwithstanding. Erstwhile while on duty I am charged with the responsibility of caring for the very lives of a squad, and often platoon of soldiers, and nearly 2 million dollars of government property, along with the training of its use, and mentoring and shaping subordinates below me to become leaders.

But I cant go grab a bite to eat or a beer by myself after 1800 hours? Nice, I think I'll stay in till retirement.

Stay tuned, In the next post Ill outline the USFK Curfew policy for your review. I think you'll find it informative to say the very least.

Honeybee!

My dear Honeybee, you ARE among the living! I was wondering where you had gone. Welcome back, you know I love you more than life itself, past issues notwithstanding.

Congrats on the baby.

Intelligent Conversation

Is it to much to ask for to expect at the very least some semi-intelligent conversation with those who would choose to engage you in conversation? I hate to have to point this out, but there are far more things to talk about other than hot chicks, getting drunk, sports, getting drunk and vomiting, (my personal favorite) and a whole host of other useless and pointless items of no interest.

It is disturbing to me, and I may have ranted in this very blog previously on the subject, how very little the youth of America are supposedly learning in school. If they are in fact being taught anything, then the system is undoubtedly in disrepair, since these kids, many of whom are now soldiers, seem to retain nothing of their school years.

I challenge those of you who read this blog to do an experiment. Find the nearest American youth in the age range of 15 to 25 and ask them some simple basic questions. Cover some subjects like history, literature, politics, hell even current events and world news. I think you will be shocked and dismayed, as most of these same youth are in fact in possession of diplomas.

While I am on the subject of lack of intelligence, lack of common sense and lack of basic literacy, why does it seem to be so easy for those meeting that description to get promoted? Without intentionally sounding boastful, it is an endless source of irritation to have to work for people, and have them in positions of authority over me, who are in possession of little or no intelligence.

I can’t stand to have my various documents corrected by people who, while in possession of a college degree or two, are barely literate at all. Being “taught” how to prepare documents of various types and being given samples written by them that appear to have been drafted by 4 years olds. It’s disheartening to say the least.

Conversely, why am I always that guy who gets under everyone’s skin because I actually READ those things we call regulations? Wouldn’t you think that others would appreciate your knowledge and look to you for guidance, thusly shoring up their own weak areas? I need to complete my novel so I can retire and become a recluse, or otherwise have the capitol to open my own business…

In this way I can hire only quality people, and any mistakes and issues are my very own. I am so very tired of talking to myself so I have someone intelligent to talk to!